BABY YOU CAN PARK YOUR CAR

I was struck by a few comments, and made one, on Facebook in the wake of reports in the Times about how our esteemed and much respected honourable representatives are to pack their horseless carriages in Merchants' Street in order not to take up parking spaces for us lesser mortals.

It seems not to have occurred to the honourable gentlemen and ladies that, in actual fact, us lesser mortals generally park in one of the parking areas created outside the City built for gents and walk or take a minibus or one of those electric gadgets that tool around, though I haven't seen many of the latter recently, probably because I've taken to using a bike (motorised, lest anyone think I've taken leave of my senses)

It is patently obvious that one should not expect such important folk as MPs, who are compensated so frugally for their service in the first place, to walk or to pay for their parking or electric taxis. Why should they? As a nation, we should recognise their dedication in attending each and every sitting of Parliament, thronging the benches of Government and Opposition, to hang onto every sibilant utterance of whoever is addressing the House at any time of the day, even when some important soccer match is on or when constituency duties (not to mention professional duties) would really have a much more imperative call on their time.

On the other hand, perhaps it might occur to the Honourable Gang that it would not be beyond the bounds of basic ingenuity for them to devise a system whereby they could park at the MCP (even if we pay for it for them) or at the larger park a few minutes further out and make use of a shuttle mini-bus (which we could pay for, too) With just a modicum of forward planning, this would only add minutes to the time they dedicate to their Parliamentary duties.

I know that when you're talking about a day already jam-packed with exclusive dedication to the obligations attendant on having been elected by the great unwashed to represent them in one of the two highest institutions of the land, even a couple of minutes spent in a mini-bus is probably perceived as a tad too much, to say nothing of the indignity of using a form of transport that may have been sullied by the bottoms of the common man, but the good example that would be given would be immense.

As it is, what we have is a perception by the common man, and they don't get much commoner than the people who use Facebook or read the Times, that our MPs are so special that they can decide amongst themselves to dump their cars onto a newly re-paved street, obstruct shop-windows and generally continue being special, without even the slightest consideration of how it looks to the rest of us.

It seems they didn't even have the common courtesy to consult the Speaker, the final arbiter of matters appropriate within the House.

It was bad enough when, after years of having however many hundred parking spaces there were in the Palace Square closed off to accommodate sixty or so MPs, they were given the exclusive privilege of having entire streets reserved for their cars. Now, and I suspect that this is because some of the reserved areas involved a walk up a slight hill, they've arrogated to themselves the more convenient expedient of dumping their cars in Merchants' Street, which does not involve walking up a hill to get to the House.

I'm not entirely sure that the even more exalted sub-group within this special species, the Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries, who have the services of a driver to tool their official cars around, saving them the trouble of parking the things themselves (to which I don't object, hanging around waiting for a Minister to park would make him or her even later than usual) don't tacitly let their drivers park in Merchants' Street too, for all the world as if it's impossible for them to give the driver a quick buzz on the mobile five minutes before they have to execute some breath-taking dash somewhere or other to save the world.

In my real life, I work in the other pillar of democracy, the other highest institution of the land, but I don't have the privilege of reserved parking to be able to get there on time. I don't even have any exemption from the congestion charge that is levied every time a camera winks at my car, although I don't have a choice but to go to Valletta for work.

So I either park outside and schlep in, or use the bike, or faff about looking for a spot and pay the relevant charges.

But then, I'm not a Special One.